Celebrating the Streets of York through strategic PR & social media
The challenge
A new, limited-edition book and exhibition entitled ‘The Streets of York: Four centuries of change’ was created by former Vice Chancellor of the University of York and one of York’s most prominent enthusiasts Sir Ron Cooke, with his friends and colleagues including Darrell Buttery and Chris Shepherd. Comprising a unique collection of over 200 original paintings, drawings and photographs of York’s famous streets, they tracked the changes across the medieval city in the last four hundred years.
The exhibition displaying the images was to be held in an historic hall next to York Minster, with tickets on sale to the public for two months in the run up to Christmas. Proceeds from the sale of the book and entry to the exhibition were to be shared between three local charities – York Against Cancer, York Civic Trust and York Minster Fund and a compelling campaign was needed to maximise awareness and encourage book and ticket sales.
Our solution? Design an innovative PR & social media campaign
We created an innovative campaign across social media platforms to highlight a glimpse of the treasures to be found in the book and at the exhibition, presenting images of York’s most famous streets and the stories of how they evolved over the years. To create an initial ‘buzz’ we worked with leading regional legal firm, Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP, to organise an exclusive exhibition preview, which was attended by many of York’s leading figures from the worlds of business, education, tourism, the arts and media.
The outcome
The event was a great success with over 100 guests from across York’s leading organisations attending and a true celebration of their affection for the city.
More than £70,000 was raised through book and ticket sales, which was shared across the three charities.